My car was in for service yesterday and I get a phone call from the service receptionist.

 

Receptionist- I have been asked to phone you as the "technician" has alerted me to a safety critical issue with your car"

 

Me- What is wrong

 

R- Sir, your tyres have very little tread on them 4mm rear and 3mm front.

 

Me- What do you sugest? (I knew exactly what my tread depths were)

 

R- We can replace them and it will be £205 per tyre (WTF)

 

Me- That is interesting but the legal minimum is 1.6mm and my rear tyres are less than 50% worn and fronts just over 50% worn, so why would that be a safety "critical" issue?????

 

R- ummmm (end of phone cal).

 

So, just another way for the unwary to pay top dollar (I can source contisport 5 for £125) for something they don't need, which is the same trick they try with brake pads.

 

Definitely STEALERS!!!!!! 

Did this to me, along with ringing me if I don't do the normal variable distance (typically 12 weeks) I get a phone call to book it in.

They tyres are flagged yellow on the sheet at 4mm and red at 2.5mm at the VW dealer I use.

Tyre manufacturers have been pushing for a minimum tread depth of 3mm for a while.

Maybe the dealer agrees with them rather than VoSA (or whoever sets the legal minimum).

As for £205 per corner.......

Fiat want 65 quid for 4 cheap copper core NGK spark plugs.

I asked them to break down their servicing charges.

Then cancelled my service with them after telling the person on the phone

they exploit the stupid.

I sourced  the exact same plugs for 12 quid for four. 

In short for the same money as Fiats boggo service (half of which I'd worry they hadn't bothered to do)

I bought ALL filters OEM Fiat, new (and better) oil and NGK plugs PLUS new pagid front discs and pads

and a litre of ATE brake fluid all supplied by me.

My indy performed the service, brakes and brake fluid change.

Then service indicator reset. All for less than a half baked job done by Fiat.  

Stealers indeed.

Fiat want 65 quid for 4 cheap copper core NGK spark plugs.

I asked them to break down their servicing charges.

Then cancelled my service with them after telling the person on the phone

they exploit the stupid.

I sourced the exact same plugs for 12 quid for four.

In short for the same money as Fiats boggo service (half of which I'd worry they hadn't bothered to do)

I bought ALL filters OEM Fiat, new (and better) oil and NGK plugs PLUS new pagid front discs and pads

and a litre of ATE brake fluid all supplied by me.

My indy performed the service, brakes and brake fluid change.

Then service indicator reset. All for less than a half baked job done by Fiat.

Stealers indeed.

To be fair, you don't have a workshop to run, staff wages to pay, a receptionist, a fleet of courtesy cars, public liability insurance, business rates, staff training etc to pay for.

To be fair, you don't have a workshop to run, staff wages to pay, a receptionist, a fleet of courtesy cars, public liability insurance, business rates, staff training etc to pay for.

All of which is true.

But misinforming a customer and then trying to charge almost double the rate Kwik-Fit would (who also have overheads) is taking the Micky Mouse!

All of which is true.

But misinforming a customer and then trying to charge almost double the rate Kwik-Fit would (who also have overheads) is taking the Micky Mouse!

I don't see where the misinformation is. 3mm is when they should be changed. Stopping distances start to increase in the wet below this.

Judging by the number of tickets and prohibitions for tyres I give out each week, most tyres are not checked between services so the likelyhood is, all would need replacing before the next one is due.

As for the price, it is high but I'm guessing the dealer doesn't buy in bulk and some people will pay for the convenience of having them done there.

Some people who are savvy will keep an eye on things like this though. They check the pressures weekly to minimise wear and will swap them when they hit 3mm. They will also shop around for a good deal. Most are lazy though.

Isn't 3mm the point at which and MOT tester will

Issue an advisory notice? As for price, I've seen what some dealers pay for tyres and the smaller ones pay more from their suppliers than I do at my preferred tyre specialist. It's all about how many tyres you sell.

A honda dealer once invoiced me 3 quid for screen wash on a service, I asked them if they had fixed the leak in the water tank then?

 

What leak they replied?

 

Well i filled the tank to the brim before i left the house and i haven't used my washers so if you have squeezed some screen wash in then it must be leaking!

 

Only 3 quid but if they say they have filled screenwash when they haven't, what other work would they charge for and not do?

To be fair, you don't have a workshop to run, staff wages to pay, a receptionist, a fleet of courtesy cars, public liability insurance, business rates, staff training etc to pay for.

No but my indy does, all of that bar the courtesy cars.

(Which Fiat wanted to charge me separately for I might add)

I just bought all the parts and sundries myself and he fitted them, oh and I forgot to

mention he MOT'd the car while he was at it.

He has a very busy and well equipped workshop with all manner of alignment

equipment, MOT test equipment, 6 four post ramps, at least 10 staff all of which are poached from around

different VAG workshops and franchises. Most of them are MOT testers, and all are regularly sent on  

further training courses to keep their skills current. I very much doubt he's paying them peanuts.

He's also a REVO agent and does performance upgrades and fits things like suspension kits,

wheels and tyres, exhausts and roll bars and the like. A very comprehensive workshop and

list of services offered.

 

So for the money Fiat wanted for a basic service and MOT,

I got a full service using all genuine Fiat parts, all filters changed, new OE plugs,

better oil than they would have used and Pagid front discs and brake pads plus new fluid.

(An upgrade IMO  over standard brakes) And an MOT for less money.

And I never got my hands dirty at all.

If Fiat had done the brakes (using poxy genuine brakes which don't last long at all

hence the replacement on a 28k car) and fluid as well I'd have been looking at over £600

I paid comfortably under 300 for parts labour and MOT. So I stand by my point. 

And whats more,nobody tried to sell me another Fiat and I have complete confidence

my mechanic has actually done the work I paid for.     

I don't see where the misinformation is. 3mm is when they should be changed. Stopping distances start to increase in the wet below this.

I'm not going to dispute that stopping distances increase (http://www.etyres.co.uk/tread-depths-distance) as the tyre wears down (and they begin to increase quite significantly before they reach 3mm whether in the wet or dry), but unless I am mistaken the UK law is still 1.6mm (UK Tyre Depth Summary).

To advise the customer their tyres are approaching the legal limit would be sensible and prudent.

But I suspect that the OP was not clearly advised and was reasonably knowledgeable and honestly felt the dealer was 'trying it on' hence the reason he posted in the first place.

cant fault my local indie squeezed me in as I had cocked up mot date. rang to say it had passed , no ringing up touting for business , no advisories , no nothing

R- Sir, your tyres have very little tread on them 4mm rear and 3mm front.

.............

Me- That is interesting but the legal minimum is 1.6mm and my rear tyres are less than 50% worn and fronts just over 50% worn, so why would that be a safety "critical" issue?????

...........

Definitely STEALERS!!!!!!

Devils advocate again for a second, as I've just seen the OP again when looking at a new post:

As you rightly state, legal minimum is 1.6mm. You say that your tyres had 3mm and 4mm and that makes them just over 50% worn and less than 50% worn respectively.

But if 1.6 is the legal limit, and below that is illegal, them or would be foolish to run it that fine. I think it's safe to say that we can call 2mm or less 'worn out' in that they should be replaced by 2m.

New tyres generally come with 8mm of tread, so, if 2mm is worn out then they have 6mm of 'usable' wear on them. Your tyes, having used 5mm (3 left) and 4mm (4 left) were therefore 83.33% (5/6) worn and 66.67% (4/6) worn.

In short the fronts will be due very soon and the backs will last a bit longer. I'd probably replace neither at this stage but my point is that the tyres are a lot more worn than you think they are.

Had similar from a Honda garage before when I had a type r. Phoned me to say the pads needed changing. I told them not to bother.

On the NEXT service 10 thousand miles later I was told they were absolutely fine. Bloody ridiculous.

My car was in for service yesterday and I get a phone call from the service receptionist.

 

Receptionist- I have been asked to phone you as the "technician" has alerted me to a safety critical issue with your car"

 

Me- What is wrong

 

R- Sir, your tyres have very little tread on them 4mm rear and 3mm front.

 

Me- What do you sugest? (I knew exactly what my tread depths were)

 

R- We can replace them and it will be £205 per tyre (WTF)

 

Me- That is interesting but the legal minimum is 1.6mm and my rear tyres are less than 50% worn and fronts just over 50% worn, so why would that be a safety "critical" issue?????

 

R- ummmm (end of phone cal).

 

So, just another way for the unwary to pay top dollar (I can source contisport 5 for £125) for something they don't need, which is the same trick they try with brake pads.

 

Definitely STEALERS!!!!!! 

 

 

This has previously also happened to me.

 

Following a dealer service, I had a slow puncture on one of the two front tyres, which I asked to repair during the service.

 

Technican stated that both front tyres where worn down to around 2mm and would require replacing soon.

 

I decided to ask how much they would charge to fit exactly the same tyres to the front and they qutoed me £130 a corner ! when a explained that I could get them changed elsewhere for at most £90 a corner they instantly agreed to match the price, so I decided to hav wethem done.

 

Its funny how they are able to instantly able to knock £80 from the price without any hassle. Just goes to show some do try it on.

 

 

Also, my neighbour had the same problem with Screen Wash saga, being charged for something that wasn`t required, as he had topped up his screenwash the day before his service.

 

If they try this with every service a number of time as a week, this can add up to a large sum of money over the year !!!!

A honda dealer once invoiced me 3 quid for screen wash on a service, I asked them if they had fixed the leak in the water tank then?

 

What leak they replied?

 

Well i filled the tank to the brim before i left the house and i haven't used my washers so if you have squeezed some screen wash in then it must be leaking!

 

Only 3 quid but if they say they have filled screenwash when they haven't, what other work would they charge for and not do?

 

Not topping, but how about this little gem:

 

Humphrey's Tyres in Caversham, Reading had a work colleague's father's motor in for 4 new tyres.

He pottered off into town while they did it and came back to them saying his front shocks were worn out & leaking and they would be x amount to replace the exact same make and type.

He duly booked it in, the time came, he dropped his car off and went into town to wait for it to be done again.

When he came back, they presented him with a bill for more than a few hundred quid, to which he produced a reciept from the same fitter 2-3 months before when they'd changed all four of them because they were genuinely old & knackered then.

Bloke behind the counter sort of stuttered and said, 'er, yeah, fair enough' and he drove off with two free new shocks that obviously never needed replacing in the first place at the expense of the company trying to pull a fast one on an older gent.

 

I think the term is 'well played sir'.

Edited 27 July, 201312 yr by blackspaven

There's good and bad out there for sure.

And I'd like to think that my dealer made a genuine mistake when they presented me with a service report stating that all four tyres were at 7mm when only one was.

The opposite wheel was about 6mm (so fairly close) but the other axle were both at about 3mm. Quite a difference to not be noticed on a service.

Other than this, I have generally had very thorough services with the same dealer and not had much experience of attempted over charging.

Thankfully.

They are all at to a greater or lesser degree.

I recently purchased the local main dealers octavia vrs demonstrator and was given all the blurb of it will have a 3000 point check prior to delivery and a full valet blah, blah.

On the day I collected it I said to the salesman, let's see how good the pdi checks are?

He said why is that?

I said when I saw the car 3 days ago it was missing the rear washer/wiper plastic cover.....guess what he had to take one off another car in front of me and tutted.that's a fail.

Got home operated the front screen washers plain water only no screen wash. Topped up with mixture of screen wash concentrate and water to the tune of well over a whole litre! Another fail.

The windows had been tinted a couple of days before and all the deionised water marks/stains were all present on the delivery/collecting day, dust on corners of the dash another fail.

My wife's nearly new citigo is like the Olympics on the side and back windows when they get misted/steamed up....all the rings/fitting marks appear been back twice and they cannot clean them off??

This car was valeted for the first owner then 400 miles later it was valeted again for my wife to collect and like I say it has been dropped off since and still they appear....grrr

Rant over.

Edited 27 July, 201312 yr by Defenderben

I suppose one must always have at the back of ones mind how much servicing will take place when it is a free service that was included by the manufacturer at the time of purchase, I guess they will only refund the dealer a 'trade' price as opposed to 'retail'.

Mine went in 2 weeks ago  for a 80,000 mile service,   I just wanted oil n filter, a stamp in the book  and that annoying service  chime  resetting...

Dropped her off and after an hour the phone rang

New discs and pads all  round

New rear bumpstops

2 new front CV joint gaitors

Air con re gas  and test

£900!!!

they expected me to say yes!

A few days later my reputeable mechanic friend confirmed that back pads will need doing in next 3K, no splits and bumpstops were ok for another year

Makes you think...

Just to update.

 

I am also a police officer but not a traffic officer, so I know whats what on my car and I am pragmatic about tyre wear and will change at 2mm, which is when the Met Police change tyres.

 

My point was that those people who do not know much about cars (elderly etc) will put their faith in a main dealer and they will end up paying huge sums for things they don't need.

Kwick Fit were found to be running a similar process of add on work for things that were not needed and it is a way to boost profits. It is easy to tell an owner on variable servicing that their pads are worn and won't make another 18k miles and for someone to pay up when in reality they could have another 10-12k miles of wear left.

 

It is a shame that real customer service seems so lacking in main dealers for most makes.

I'll stick up for my dealer here, as they're good as gold. Only minor gripe is sometimes it's had to go back in a few times to get a job done, but it's always got there in the end and they're very friendly to the extent we're on first name terms now. Now I'm past my warrranty, the only thing that would stop me going there for work all the time is the sheer expense compared to an indy, which is a shame but every penny counts nowadays.

It is a sign of the times, they are all under pressure to make money/profits.

There are no huge margins in new cars, so the next place is servicing/repairs and once in the darkside of the workshop some feel they have a licence to print money.

Find yourself a really nice trusting garage usually ends up an independent but could well be a main dealer and stick with them, a good relationship is vital to get everyone's trust and someone doing the work properly at a reasonable rate is fair. You do not expect it for nothing but some of the prices being branded around are extortionate IMHO

When I had my Passat, Leeds VW told me the discs and pads needed changing every service for 4 years, never once did I even get an MOT advisory on them through that time. I stopped using them when I found they had charged for but not bothered to check and top up the power steering fluid in the Polo we had, presumably because it takes effort to get to on one with a 1.9 TDI lump.

 

The only dealer I use now is for the Kia because we got free servicing with the car and of course the warranty, the Octavia goes to an independent.

Some prey on the fact that

"We know better than you, we have the car up on a ramp  and can see... oh and you will never see if we have changed it!"

Im all for them making a profit, but to say something needs changing when it does not,  is fraud in my book

In my case if they could have shown me the items on my car and the condition then fine

But to ring you up and say this and that  need doing and expecting  me to say yes... how many people just cave in and say yes??